It is the opinion of a number
of longtime Transformers collectors that
Hasbro
isn't really sure what to do with the "Generation One" concept,
the
original
Transformers as they appeared in the United States. Even as DreamWave
Productions launches an ongoing comics series and the animated episodes
wrap up their
DVD collections, Hasbro seems a little -- uncertain.

Certainly there is the forthcoming
20th Anniversary Optimus Prime, but
beyond
that, Hasbro seems to be devoting its efforts to the Energon line and
the
Alternators, which one could argue are Generation One -- sideways. Then
of course
there are the Heroes of Cybertron PVC's, a line which will be ending
soon.

Apart from that, however,
the only real currently available product from
Generation One are the reissues of the original Transformers, a Toys
"R"
Us
exclusive which hasn't fared all that well due to truly astronomical
pricing that
would make a Ferengi flinch.

So Hasbro has the concept,
and the characters -- they just don't seem to
know
what to do with it. Perhaps they're concerned that it just wouldn't
be
all
that popular anymore.

Those concerns should be
put to rest with the release of the Generation
One
SpyChangers.

A little explanation is due
here. For some time now, ever since the
"Robots
in Disguise" series, Hasbro has produced a series of transforming
mini-cars,
called "SpyChangers". Technically, these things arguably date
back to the
days
of Generation 2, when a bunch of them were released under the sub-name
"Go-Bots", a former competitor's robot product until Hasbro
bought the
parent company.
But in more recent years, the cars have been released as mini-cars
connected
to whichever main Transformers concept was in the stores. And lately,
they've
pretty much been a K*B exclusive, except for some that've turned up
at
Toys
"R" Us and Suncoast in "collectible tins" of all
things.

All of this comes around
to the newest release. The package just says
Transformers. Not Robots in Disguise. Not Armada. Not Energon. Just
Transformers. And
the cars chosen, the colors and markings they're given, and the names
they're
given are as close to Generation One characters as possible.

And they're proving to be
hotter and scarcer than Energon cubes during an
Insecticon invasion.

There are six in the series.
To date, I have found four of them --
OPTIMUS
PRIME, AUTOBOT JAZZ, SILVERSTREAK, and PROWL. I am still lacking AUTOBOT
WHEELJACK and HOIST. Only one K*B in Tucson that I know of has had them,
and I got
the last four in the place.

How popular are they? They
retail for $3.99 apiece. You could get all six
for
about $25.00, depending on your local sales tax. A set of six, one of
very
few that have turned up on eBay, recently went for $86.00 -- before
shipping.

If Hasbro has any doubts
about the popularity of Generation One
Transformers,
this should erase them entirely. Let us hope that these superb little
cars,
which I most highly recommend, do not prove to be as scarce in the long
run as
sensible decision-making on the part of any number of toy companies
seems
to
be these days.